What was the O-ring material on the challenger?
Challenger disaster The material of the failed O-ring was FKM, which was specified by the shuttle motor contractor, Morton-Thiokol. When an O-ring is cooled below its glass transition temperature Tg, it loses its elasticity and becomes brittle.
What was wrong with the O-rings on the Challenger?
Field joints containing rubber O-ring seals were installed between each fuel segment. The O-rings were never tested in extreme cold. On the morning of the launch, the cold rubber became stiff, failing to fully seal the joint.
Who made the O-rings for the challenger?
Morton Thiokol
Ebeling was one of five booster rocket engineers at NASA contractor Morton Thiokol who tried to stop the 1986 Challenger launch. They worried that cold temperatures overnight — the forecast said 18 degrees — would stiffen the rubber O-ring seals that prevent burning rocket fuel from leaking out of booster joints.
What size was the O-ring that failed on the Challenger?
0.280 inches
This is the joint that failed on the Right Solid Rocket Booster. The joint is sealed by two rubber O-rings, with a diameter of 0.280 inches (+ 0.005, -0.003). The sealing is used to stop the gases from inside the SRB escaping. The seal had failed, because the flame seen during the flight was gas being burnt.
Were the crew of the Challenger recovered?
In March 1986, the remains of the astronauts were found in the debris of the crew cabin. Though all of the important pieces of the shuttle were retrieved by the time NASA closed its Challenger investigation in 1986, most of the spacecraft remained in the Atlantic Ocean.
How did the Challenger disaster affect NASA?
In the wake of what happened with Challenger, NASA made technical changes to the shuttle and also worked to change the safety and accountability culture of its workforce. The shuttle program resumed flights in 1988. Satellite launches were shifted from the shuttle to reusable rockets.
Did the Challenger families sue NASA?
After the 1986 Challenger disaster, four families of the seven astronauts killed reached out-of-court settlements with the Justice Department for a total of $7.7 million. The wife of Challenger pilot Michael Smith sued NASA in 1987.
What failed on the Challenger?
The disaster began after a joint in the Space Shuttle’s right solid rocket booster (SRB) failed at liftoff. The failure was caused by the failure of O-ring seals used in the joint, in part because of the unusually cold temperatures at the time of launch.
Why did they use rubber O rings on Challenger?
Because the Morton Thiokol factory was in Utah, the launch pad in Florida, and the boosters had to be transported by rail, which set a limit on the maximum length of a railcar to guarantee it could negotiate the turns in the track and fit through the tunnels on the way.
Who was the contractor for the Challenger Space Shuttle?
HydraPak was the sole contractor NASA used in the manufacture of the space shuttle O-rings. On the morning of January 28, 1986, NASA decided to go ahead with the launch of the Challenger despite unseasonably cold temperatures. Large amounts of ice were seen collecting on the shuttle and its booster rockets.
What was the cause of the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion?
Image: The Final Crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger via Wikipedia The cause of the disaster was traced to an O-ring, a circular gasket that sealed the right rocket booster. This had failed due to the low temperature (31°F / -0.5°C) at launch time – a risk that several engineers noted, but that NASA management dismissed.
Why are O rings the finest static seals ever developed?
In the Parker O-Ring Handbook ORD 5700 paragraph 4.0 says “It has been said that O-rings are �the finest static seals ever developed.’ Perhaps the prime reason for this is because they are almost human proof . If the gland has been designed and machined properly”.